Finally
by blondegirl09
Summary: It was a normal day in January and all I wanted to do was sleep in. Ino x Shikamaru.


**Authors Note: Just a short story. =)**

**I do not own Naruto or anything near it. I just love the show.**

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Finally

"…" Talking

'…' Thinking

- "Ino." The voice of my mother traveled to my ears. After a few seconds of silence I tried to fall back to sleep only to hear "Ino!" This time it was a bit louder, and carried an annoyed

tone. 'Maybe if I don't answer she will give up'. Only seconds later the covers, I was cocooned in, were ripped away from my body. The icy air hit my skin, making me curl into a ball.

"Ino, I called you twice and received no answer. I need you to run an errand for me." "But, mom it is my day off. I don't have to train, or go on a mission. Why can't you..." "Ino

Yamanaka don't you finish that sentence, your father has been on a mission for two months, he is coming home today, and I have flowers to sell. Get dressed and meet me in the shop.

You have ten minutes." Then she walked out. The annoyance that was bubbling inside me was suddenly gone. 'Dad is coming home today!' my feet touched the floor and a cold chill

shot through my spine. Why did January have to be so cold, even in the leaf village it was freezing? I hurried to my closet and found my warmest sweater, and jeans. I threw my

pajamas onto the bed and pulled on my jeans. However, when I tried to put on my sweater I realized it was a little tight. 'I know it was been a year since I wore this, but it must have

shrunk in that wash, there is no way I grew this much.' I shed the sweater and pulled on a shirt. It was not as warm, but it would do. I grabbed my gloves, hat, and scarf and headed

to the bathroom. Even on a cold day, I would not be seen with out makeup.

- Ten minutes later, I finally made it down to the shop. "You're late Ino. Anyway, I need you to run to the Nara's. Give these cookies and flowers to Yoshino and invited her and

Shikamaru to dinner. Since Shikaku was on the mission with you father, I figured they could all eat dinner with us." 'I have to run all the way to the Nara's house, great maybe I can get

frostbite!' "Okay mom, I will be back later." I zipped up my coat, slipped on my shoes, and headed out the door. The frigid air nipped at my face. The town was blanketed in a fresh

layer of snow. 'If it wasn't so cold, I might be kind of pretty.' I started to run, making it out of town and dodging trees and rocks, toward the Nara house. After a good amount of time, I

made it to the house and knocked on the door. Seconds later the door swung open and a laugh erupted from the kind soul. "Hey Rudolph, come on in." "Shut up Shikamaru. Nice

pajamas." 'Who knew he has muscles like that' I strode past the boy wearing no shirt and a pair of blue pajama pants and kicked off my shoes. "Mrs. Nara, are you here?" "She is in

the kitchen making breakfast," Shikamaru answered from behind me. I was greeted with a smile and the scent of pancakes. "Good morning Ino, your mom said you would be dropping

by, Shikamaru go put a shirt on, a lady is in the house." 'Why does Shikamaru think she is so mean?' "My mom sent these for you and invited you both to dinner tonight." I handed the

flowers and cookies to Mrs. Nara as Shikamaru returned. "Sure, we would love to come to dinner, isn't that right Shikamaru?" "Sure" He said in a bored tone. Suddenly the look of fear

ran across his face "Wait, Ino you aren't cooking are you?" A wooden spoon hit him straight in the head. "Man, what a drag." "Ino, please sit down and have breakfast with us? I made

plenty of food." "Thank you, I would love too." I had one pancake and a glass of orange juice. I am on a diet after all.

- "Well Mrs. Nara I should be getting back, mom will be nagging me to help set the table or something." "Okay, well I will see you tonight, and Shikamaru walk Ino home, it is freezing."

"What a drag." Five minutes later, he walked back into the kitchen and was ready to go. We walked out the door and noticed the snow and wind had picked up. "Want to run? The

faster we get to the house, the less time we spend in the snow." I asked. "I have a better idea, let's race." He challenged. "Okay, go!" Shikamaru knew the path better then I did, but

that was not going to stop me, I darted in a different direction and ran as fast as I could. The wintry mix of wind and snow were blinding. Minutes later, I realized I was lost. 'How does

a ninja get lost in her own village? Which way is the town again? What is that sound?' A cracking noise erupted under my feet and before I could react, I fell into the icy water. 'Damn it,

what do I do?' The cold seemed to seep through my skin, making my muscles scream in pain. "Help!" I shrieked, desperately trying to keep my head above the water. The ice was

breaking apart as I tried to climb up and Shikamaru would be long gone since we were racing. I could not think, and it was freezing. I could not feel my legs and my head plunged under

water. A strong pair of hands grabbed my arm and hoisted my body out the pond. "Ino, Ino are you okay? You are freezing! What were you thinking, you could have died." I could not

talk, it was so cold, and my energy was completely gone. "I have to get you home, you will get frostbite." He carried me all the way back to my house. The sign on the door said mom

had left and she would be back later, and the door was locked. Instead, we got through my bedroom window. "Sorry Ino, but your mom isn't home and you can't stay in those wet

clothes." My clothes were then stripped off one by one, until I was down to my underwear and bra. As I sat on the floor shivering Shikamaru pulled my robe from my closet, besides

being cold, I noticed that a blush was spread across his face.

- After the robe was securely tied around my body he lifted me up and placed me on my bed, after taking off his jacket and kicking off his shoes, he climbed next to me, pulled the

blankets up, and wrapped his arms around me. "Body heat will help." "Thank you for saving me Shika." Ten minutes later, we heard the door open downstairs and my mom yell "Ino are

you home yet?" Shikamaru pulled away from me and said, "I will go downstairs and explain what happened." A few minutes went by and my mom rushed through the door of my room

and started asking tons of questions. Although, the only thing I could pay attention to was Shikamaru leaning against my door with a worried look on his face. I ended up downstairs

on the couch, with a mountain of blankets and the fireplace roaring. "Mom, I am not even that cold anymore. I am fine really." "Let her worry Ino, she is a mom, it is her job to worry."

Shikamaru said from the other side of the couch. Shikamaru laughed a little and I sent him an annoyed look. "What is so funny?" "Not only is your nose still red, but your lips are blue."

He said. "I almost died an hour ago and you are laughing at me." "Thanks Shikamaru, I thought you cared." I added on. His face got serious and he stared at me. "Ino, I do care." After

that was said he stood up and said that he was going home and would be back later for dinner. "Thank you again for saving me Shikamaru." I said almost silently. As he turned the

doorknob to leave, he replied "Your welcome Ino." Then he was gone.

- Dad would be home any minute, meaning the Nara's would be here sooner. I rolled the mascara onto my eyelashes. I had temporally given up on my hair. I tried curling it, braiding it,

it and even put it up in a pony tail. However, nothing seemed to work with this outfit. I quickly studied my reflection in the mirror, a nice pair of blue jeans with a light purple sweater.

'My bones still haven't warmed up from earlier.' "Ino, we have company, hurry up." Mom yelled from downstairs. In a rush I flipped my head, shook my hair, ran the brush through it,

and started down the steps. I walked into the living room expecting to see Shikamaru and Mrs. Yoshiro sitting on the couch, but instead was greeted with the face of my father. I

paused for a second the jumped into a hug. "Dad, you're home! I missed you so much." "I missed you too, you should wear your hair down more often." He replied. Then he let me go

and walked over to my mom. At that, moment there was a knock at the door. The Nara's were here. After letting them in I quickly closed out the snow and chilly wind. We all sat down

and enjoyed the dinner my mom had prepared. An hour later mom and Yoshiro were in the kitchen washing dishes and talking. The rest of us were in the living room by the fireplace.

"So Ino, Shikamaru told me about what happened today." "What happened today?" My dad interrupted. "Ino fell in the pond and Shikamaru here had to save her." My dads' eyes

nearly popped out of his head as he rushed over to me and started checking my fingers and toes. "Are you okay? You could have died! What were you thinking going out by the pond?"

Once he was sure that I did not have frostbite and I was not going to die, he thanked Shikamaru and sat back down on the couch.

- Eventually all the adults were talking and I went up to my room. I grabbed my new bottle of purple nail polish, and cotton. Then, I proceeded to paint my toes. Half way through there

was a knock on my door; Shikamaru barged in and stretched out on my bed. "I don't know why you paint your nails like that. You will have to repaint them tomorrow after we all train

anyway." "Why does it matter?" I questioned as I finished my toes. "It doesn't I guess. Are you still cold? You look cold." He asked. "My bones are still cold. You know, when my head

went under the water, I thought I was finished. I couldn't move, I was so cold. It was terrifying." Shikamaru just stared at me. "Ino, when you first started doing the Mind Transfer

Jutsu I said I would be there to take care of your body. You mind was somewhere else, but I was always there to take care of you. That applies all the time you know. I will always be

there to take care of you." With out thinking I bent down and lightly kissed him. I stood up, slipped on my shoes, and walked out to my balcony. Although the wind was still strong, the

snow had calmed. "You know if you wanted a kiss all you had to do was ask." I turned around to see Shikamaru grinning at me. "I didn't want a kiss, I just thought what you said was

sweet." I replied. "Shut up Ino. By the way I love it when you wear your hair down" The he pulled me to him and kissed me. His arms wrapped around my waist as my arms wrapped

round his neck. Neither of us was aware of our parents standing in my doorway. "Finally" My mom said as she breathed a sigh of relief.

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**Thank you for reading! ****Please review****. **


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